


Liberty is a Responsibility

by Professor_Fluffy



Category: Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Cute, M/M, Pets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-11
Updated: 2012-08-11
Packaged: 2017-11-11 21:17:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/482986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Professor_Fluffy/pseuds/Professor_Fluffy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve asks Tony to apartment sit while he's out of town.<br/>Tony does not know how to care for a cat.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Liberty is a Responsibility

Tony tossed his bags on the couch.

“Sorry about this Tony,” Steve shrugged. “Normally Mrs. Halsinki would watch my apartment for me while I’m out of town, but she and Albert moved into an assisted living community.”

“No worries. Where’s the remote?” Tony was running his hands down the blank wall across from the couch with a confused expression.

“The remote?”

Tony looked up, “You know, for the T.V.” His hands stilled. “Steve, please, tell me you have a television.”

“Nope.”

Tony flopped onto the couch, “what do you do for fun?”

“I jog. I come to the gym to train.”

“Why do you even have your own apartment? You spend most of the day at the tower.”  
“Well, that’s what I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.”  
Something heavy tugged at Tony’s expensive Italian loafer.  
Steve placed a warm hand on Tony's ankle to stop him from dislodging the offending object, and plucked a small orange and white kitten off of Tony’s shoe with his free hand. “Tony, meet Liberty Belle.”

“Oh, hell no.”

Steve’s face crumpled.

“No. I mean.. It’s fine. It’s fine Steve.” Tony quickly corrected, swinging his feet off the couch. “She’s uhh, adorable.”

Steve smiled. “Good. The bags for her litter box are under the sink. Mix some baking soda in when you put fresh sand in her box. It smells better. Trust me.”

“You expect me to clean her box?” Tony sputtered indignantly.

“It’s not going to clean itself Tony.” Steve gave him a withering look. It was a look he should not be getting from a man who said things like, _it appears to run on some sort of electricity._

“If she chews up my shoes,” Tony scowled. “I am going to be pissed.”

“She’s not a dog.”

Tony and Liberty gave each other disdainful looks. 

“Besides, she’s more likely to chew on your electronics, you know, cords and things.” Steve grinned and yanked the door shut. Tony’s loafer hit the wood with a thump, and fell harmlessly to the floor. 

Liberty sniffed the leather with a contemptuous air, and began chewing on the tassels. 

Tony was going to kill Steve for this. 

Steve grabbed his phone of the table and rubbed his eyes, blinking blearily at the clock. It was three in the morning. 

“Steve?”

“Tony,” Steve said, wide awake.

“Your demon cat ruined a five thousand dollar suit Steve,” Tony hissed.

“What did you do to her?”

Tony sputtered. “Why would you assume it was something I did?”

“Tony.”

“I gave her a bath.”

“You…”

“She climbed up my back, and clawed my face. My face Steve! Your shower curtain is ruined by the way.” Tony sounded maliciously pleased to impart the last.

Steve rubbed his face with a sigh. “Tony, it’s three in the morning. You don’t bathe cats. They clean themselves, with their tongues.”

“Now why didn't I think of that.”

“Probably because you’re not flexible enough.”

The phone went dead. Tony stared at the receiver in shock. “I know he didn’t just…  
That’s it, I’m fucking up his sock drawer. No more neatly rolled red, white, and blue for Mr. Perfect abs.”

Tony yanked the drawer open and scattered rolls everywhere. 

“What’s this?” He grinned at the glossy XXX label peeking out from beneath several, now rumpled, rolls of tube socks. “So somebody's human after all." He grabbed the magazine, tossing more socks onto the floor, and wow, the svelte figure straddling the hood of that vintage corvette was -- unexpectedly -- well hung. Tony picked up Liberty and set her gently in the nest of mangled socks. 

“Here, daddy’s made you a nest to sleep in, so please stop crawling into bed with me now, thanks.”

Tony woke up the next afternoon with his face pressed against the glossy centerfold of Steve’s homoerotic porn magazine; there was an indentation down one cheek. He poked at the magazine where it was stuck to his face. Liberty was asleep on his back. “Cat,” he mumbled, fumbling with one hand to dislodge the furred nuisance. His hand smacked something solid. 

“Hey.”

Tony jerked awake so fast he fell off the side of the bed, yanking Steve’s phone off the table with him.

He scrambled to his feet. Steve was sitting on the other side of the bed, looking at him with one hell of a good poker face.

“You’re home early.”

“You were having trouble with Liberty, I got an early flight. 

“Unnn.”

“What did you do to my sock drawer?”

“Would you believe it was Liberty?”

“Was she looking at my magazine too?” Steve’s voice was register too low; his face flushed a charming shade of pink.

“Uh… she has good taste?” Tony shrugged. 

“What?”

“She lives with you. And clearly she likes your porn magazine. She is obviously a very refined feline.”

“You’re not offended?” Steve looked Tony in the face for the first time since he’d started talking.

“Surprised, a little hot and bothered maybe, but offended? Not so much.”

“Is this why you’re not living at the mansion, Steve? Because if it is, we can totally start watching musicals at movie night.”

Steve made a face.

"Hey kidding, kidding, I fucking hate musicals. This is one card carrying member of dick lovers not -so-anonymous that you couldn't pay to watch Oklahoma buddy.

"What? Tony, I told you, it’s Liberty, I didn't want to impose.”

“Bring her with you.”

“I don't want to be an inconvenience.”

“ Come on Steve, Clint has a poodle.”

“Oh.” Steve shrugged. “Wait, Clint has a what?”

“Yep, Colson got it for him. Apparently when he said there was a cellist, it was code for I like to play with single celled organisms.”

“That’s not very nice Tony.”

“Do you want to get dinner sometime?” Tony blurted.

“You know, usually you ask a guy out before you invite him to move in with you,” Steve grinned.

“I always do everything ass-backward.”

“I know, that’s why I’m accepting your invite to dinner.” Steve smirked. 

“Ok, who are you, and what have you done with Steve Rogers?”

**Author's Note:**

> Just something quick to celebrate the end of classes. :)


End file.
